The Association of South-East Asian Nations, or Asean, signed an agreement with the United States to strengthen economic ties and reduce trade barriers. Member countries hope to create a common economic unit similar to the European Union in order to ease trade between them and to increase their economic power as a group. At a recent meeting in Malaysia, the countries moved the target date for the single market from 2020 up to 2015. The US pact was called an "arrangement" and not a more formal agreement to avoid the need for US congressional approval, which would have been necessary because of US sanctions against Asean member Mynamar for human rights violations.